dreams visions

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REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION dreams and visions UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING GOD’S MESSAGES TO YOU JANE HAMON G (Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group) Jane Hamon, Dreams and Visions Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2016. Used by permission.

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Page 1: dreams visions

REVISED AND UPDATED EDITION

dreams and visions

UNDERSTANDING AND INTERPRETING

GOD’S MESSAGES TO YOU

J A N E H A M O N

G(Unpublished manuscript—copyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Hamon_DreamsVisions_NS_wo.indd 5 3/30/16 11:11 AM

Jane Hamon, Dreams and VisionsChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2016. Used by permission.

Page 2: dreams visions

© 2000, 2016 by Jane Hamon

Previous edition published by Regal Books, 2000

Published by Chosen Books

11400 Hampshire Avenue South

Bloomington, Minnesota 55438

www.chosenbooks.com

Chosen Books is a division of

Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan

Printed in the United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval

system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, pho-

tocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only

exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-0-8007-9779-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016930722

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the New King James Ver-

sion®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights

reserved.

Scripture quotations identified niv are from the Holy Bible, New International Ver-

sion®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission

of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations identified kjv are from the King James Ver-

sion of the Bible.

Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

16 17 18 19 20 21 22 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Page 3: dreams visions

This book is dedicated to my family, especially my husband,

Tom—the man of my dreams!

Tom, your constant love and continuous support have en-

couraged me to be everything God has called me to be. I love

doing life with you and serving the Lord together as a team in

ministry. Thank you for all the hours you have spent listening

to my dreams and sharing yours with me. Life with you has

truly been a dream come true.

To my daughter Crystal, you are a dreamer! You not only

dream at night with lots of great revelation, but you live your

life dreaming big dreams. I am so proud of you!

To my daughter Ti!any and her husband, Jason, and their

three children, Madisyn, Brielle and JJ: God has incredible

dreams for each of you! I can hardly wait to see all He will do

in and through your lives.

To my son, Jason, and his wife, Valerie, and their three boys,

Riley, Aiden and Lucas: The first thing you have to do in order

to dream is to actually sleep! I know with those three young,

rambunctious boys you get very little of that. Just know that

as you dream the impossible dream, the God of the impossible

will make your dreams come true.

I would also like to express my love and appreciation for my

mom and dad, Frank and Leona Makosky. Thanks for teaching

me to be persistent in the face of di*culty and for imparting

to me a sense of confidence that has helped me believe I can

succeed as I follow my dreams. I love you both dearly.

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Finally, I want to express my deep, heartfelt love and appre-

ciation for my spiritual father and mentor, Bishop Bill Hamon,

and for my spiritual mother and mentor, Evelyn Hamon, who

rejoices in heaven now. Your vision, insight, wisdom, love and

encouragement have meant the world to me. Thank you for

inspiring me to be all that I am called to be and for continually

helping me press toward that mark. Thank you for the example

that you set for me and so many others, and for every trail you

blazed that makes my path easier to walk.

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Jane Hamon, Dreams and VisionsChosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, © 2016. Used by permission.

Page 5: dreams visions

Contents

Foreword by Dutch Sheets 11

Introduction 15

1. God’s Purpose for Dreams and Visions 21

2. Dreams, Visions and Prophecy 32

3. Spiritual Dreams and Visions 40

4. Natural Dreams and Visions 49

5. False Dreams and Visions 55

6. Knowing the Source of Your Dreams 64

7. Dreams Reveal the Heart 71

8. Dreams of Encouragement 87

9. Warning and Direction from Dreams and Visions 99

10. Dreams and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit 107

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Contents

11. Dreams, Visions and Spiritual Warfare 120

12. The Language of Symbolism 129

13. Basic Symbols 140

14. Interpreting Your Dreams and Visions 156

15. Responding to Your Dreams and Visions 171

16. A Charge to Dreamers 181

Index 185

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Foreword

“Do you believe God speaks to people today?”

This was the first question—almost the first words—spoken

to me by a national political leader I met with recently. I was

a bit taken aback. “Well, yes, I do,” I replied. He wanted to

know why I believe this, how one could be sure, and the an-

swers to a few other well-thought-out questions. It seems he

had recently experienced some very detailed and interesting

dreams about our nation. Needless to say, it was an enlight-

ening meeting.

This leader’s questions are not unusual. The proliferation of

interest today in psychic readings, horoscopes, Eastern religions

and other methods of contacting the realm of the supernatural

attests to people’s innate desire to communicate with God. We

humans are wired to want communication with our Creator!

I was delighted to inform the member of Congress that he

was not crazy—God does indeed speak to people today. The

prophet Joel prophesied:

And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will

pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your

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Foreword

daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions,

and your old men shall dream dreams: And on my servants and

on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit;

and they shall prophesy.

Acts 2:17–18 kjv

In fulfillment of this, we believers should anticipate God

speaking to us through prophetic dreams and visions. He is

ready, by His Spirit, to satisfy the yearnings of the human race

for relationship with and direction from Him.

In the Scriptures, God often spoke to people through dreams

and visions. Jacob’s life was radically impacted by a series of

dreams. God revealed the destiny of Joseph through dreams.

Another Joseph, Christ’s earthly father, was instructed through

dreams—at least four times—concerning issues surrounding

the birth of our Lord. An unrighteous king, Nebuchadnezzar,

dreamed dreams from the Almighty. Pilate’s wife—also prob-

ably not a follower of Jehovah—was warned in a dream about

her husband’s dealings with Christ. The apostles Peter, Paul

and John were given visions by the Holy Spirit.

I personally have been greatly impacted by visions and

dreams. My most recent book, in fact, regarding what I believe

God is currently saying to America, was in large part the result

of God-given dreams.

The Scriptures contain more than fifty references to God

sending messages to people through dreams or visions! And

He assures us that in the last days this will continue. As we

prepare ourselves to benefit from this communication from

heaven, obvious and appropriate questions arise:

• How do we know when a dream or vision is from God,

rather than from our own imagination?

• Can dreams and visions originate from demons?

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Foreword

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• How can we correctly interpret our dreams?

• What should be our response when a dream contains a

warning?

• How do we safely act on and steward dreams and visions?

These are important questions. Not knowing the appropriate

answers causes many sincere Christians, including leaders, to

disregard their dreams. How sad and costly! We must not allow

fear of the supernatural, ignorance, the imbalance of others or

any other human frailty to frighten us away from spiritual truths.

Our inability to hear from the Lord today has weakened the

Church. Proverbs 29:18 (kjv) tells us, “Where there is no vision,

the people perish.” The word vision in this verse (chazown)

means much more than simply a plan or goal for the future.

The word actually means prophetic revelation from the Lord,

regardless of the method through which it is delivered—Scrip-

ture, prophecy, dreams, visions and any other form of revelation.

In other words, where communication from the Lord is not

present, people perish. How tragic! Satan, of course, knows

this and uses every available means to keep us from receiving

revelation from God, the greatest of which are probably fear

and ignorance.

This is why books on hearing the voice of God are so vital.

And you are holding the best book I know of on the subject

of dreams and visions. Jane Hamon has given us a masterful

work to help us hear from the Holy Spirit more clearly. In fact,

in my forty years of study and training, I have found no book

on this subject as biblical, thorough, practical and scholarly as

Dreams and Visions. You don’t have to miss the benefit of your

next God-given dream!

Dutch Sheets

Colorado Springs, Colorado

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Introduction

Years ago, while at Bible college in Dallas, Texas, I dreamed a

very disturbing dream. In my dream I saw my younger brother

become sick and die. I woke up with tears flowing down my face

trying to comfort myself with the words we teach our children

when they have a bad dream. “It’s only a dream . . . it’s only a

dream,” I told myself over and over. Suddenly I heard the voice

of the Lord say, It’s not only a dream! You need to get up and

pray! So I got out of bed and began to walk the floor and pray

for him. Eventually I felt peace and went back to bed.

The next day my mother called from her home in another

state to say that, the night before, my brother’s appendix had

ruptured while he was on a deep woods camping trip. By the

time they rushed him to the hospital he had become extremely

ill and could very well have died! It suddenly occurred to me

that God had spoken to me through my dream.

Dreams and visions have long fascinated people because of

their mysterious nature. Kings have regarded them, philosophers

have theorized about them, prophets have expounded upon

them and scientists have studied them.

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Introduction

The Scriptures show us that God often used dreams and

visions to communicate His divine messages. On numerous

occasions these secret, hidden mysteries contained revelations

that had an impact on the very course of history.

I have long been intrigued by dreams, especially as I often

dream in great detail and with intricate and exciting plots. Early

in my adult life, however, I began to have dreams that came to

pass shortly thereafter. I was also seeing things in dreams of

which I had no natural knowledge, things that I would later

find to be true. It was then that I embarked upon a journey of

understanding how God was speaking to me personally concern-

ing my life and the lives of others through dreams and visions.

God desires to communicate with us through dreams and

visions, but it is only as we gain understanding of how to un-

lock the secret, hidden mysteries that we will be able to take

full advantage of what He is saying.

We are living in a time when believers have become convinced

that God wants to speak to them and bring revelation to them

through dreams and visions. Acts 2:17–18 declares:

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will

pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daugh-

ters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old

men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My

maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; and they

shall prophesy.”

The outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the subsequent manifes-

tations of prophecy, dreams and visions are actually the fulfill-

ment of biblical promises. Jesus promised His followers that

He would send a comforter, a paraklete, one who would walk

beside them. On the day of His ascension into heaven He told

His disciples to go wait for the promise of the Father. Dreams,

visions and prophecy are part of that wonderful promise.

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Introduction

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We are now living in an exciting time in which God is pouring

out His Spirit upon men and women of all nations in new mea-

sure. As a matter of fact, in many Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu

nations when an evangelist begins to share the message of the

Gospel, it has become common for the unbeliever to respond, “I

know this man Jesus; I have seen Him in my dreams!” In these

cultures Jesus is referred to as “the man in white” and millions

have experienced His love through a dream before even hearing

the Gospel message. Dreams are clearly playing an important

role in winning souls and changing nations.

In the book of Daniel we see that God began to unfold His

purpose in the land during the time of Babylonian captivity. As

a matter of fact, the first person the Bible mentions as having a

dream from God was not the saintly prophet Daniel but rather

Babylon’s violent king, Nebuchadnezzar. God positioned Daniel

to interpret the dream of this pagan king. After two dreams and

God’s dealings in the king’s life, even this wicked king began

to proclaim Daniel’s God as the one true God.

Hear the words of this man—who had destroyed Jerusalem

and taken the Jewish people captive—after God dealt with him

through his dreams: “Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol

and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth,

and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able

to put down” (Daniel 4:37).

Because God is, in fact, pouring out His Spirit on “all flesh,”

not just on Christians, it is imperative that believers not only

learn how to hear God’s voice through dreams and visions for

themselves, but also allow God to position us as Daniels and

Josephs to interpret the dreams of unbelievers and win them

to Christ. If a believer has been praying for an unsaved family

member or co-worker, perhaps that believer should pray that

God would speak to those individuals in dreams and then be

ready to help interpret and apply God’s message.

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Introduction

During the last several decades, psychologists have studied

dreams and revealed many interesting secrets regarding the

working of the subconscious mind. Though their research has

given much understanding of the technical aspect of dreams,

this book is not written from a psychological perspective; rather,

we will investigate how God speaks to us through our dreams.

I have personally experienced many dreams and visions, and

have gained an understanding of how to interpret these revela-

tions through careful study of the Scriptures, through reading

Christian materials on the subject and through recording and

interpreting many of my own dreams. While I have interpreted

countless dreams from others, I believe that believers have the

responsibility to examine their own dreams and to listen to

the Holy Spirit through this God-ordained method of com-

munication. My heart for you, the reader, is that you will not

only be activated to receive from the Lord through dreams and

visions but will also become skilled in accurately interpreting

and properly applying what He speaks.

As we begin to learn to discern the voice of God in dreams

and visions, we will reap the benefits of a closer, more intimate

walk with our Lord (see Hebrews 5:14). “And you will seek

Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart”

(Jeremiah 29:13).

This book is directed primarily to those who are in relation-

ship with God through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. If,

therefore, you have not yet made a commitment of your life to

Jesus Christ, I want to invite you to pray the following prayer

and receive His gift of eternal life:

Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your great love that You

have for me. I recognize that I am a sinner and that I need

You to come into my life and make me new. Forgive me for

living my life according to my own way instead of how

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Introduction

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You desire me to live. I repent of my sin, and I receive the

gift of eternal life that You have made available through

Jesus Christ. I believe Jesus came to earth, lived a sinless

life, was crucified and shed His blood for my sins, and

that He rose again, triumphing over death, hell and the

grave. Thank You for making me a part of Your family. I

now receive You into my life as my personal Savior, Lord

and King, and I receive Your Holy Spirit, who will lead

me and guide me into all truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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1

God’s Purpose for Dreams and Visions

If there is a prophet among you, I, the Lord, make

Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him

in a dream.

Numbers 12:6

I dreamed of four angels who presented themselves to me as

“The Four Horsemen of Awakening.” Each angel identified

the move of God’s Spirit he represented, and their arms were

linked together indicating they were a solid, unified force to be

reckoned with—the necessary team to bring nations into revival

and awakening. Strangely, we were on a golf course and they

hit a ball down the fairway. The ball landed about ten feet away

from a large crocodile, which prevented them from continuing

to play. I could see that at the end of the course a large party

was waiting for them to finish. But instead they were waiting

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Dreams and Visions

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for something. Then in the dream I realized they were waiting

for the Church to pray so they could deal with the crocodile

and finish the course.

I had this dream during my first night of ministry in Australia

and New Zealand. I was there to speak at some conferences in

which I was to help them understand what God was saying to

their nations, to the Church and to each one individually. I was

there to release God’s prophetic voice.

Was this a dream from the Lord? Or was it the pizza I ate

the night before? Or was it merely a story line produced from

my overactive imagination? Could it be that God was giving

me a message to share with those I would be speaking to at the

conferences? I got up and wrote this dream down and began

to pray God would bring the clarity and wisdom needed to

understand what He was saying.

God has always desired to communicate with His people.

Yet for centuries God was thought of as a silent, distant, almost

indi!erent Creator who ruled the a!airs of the universe and,

though omnipotent, took little interest in the day-to-day lives

of His children.

The Church has become increasingly aware not only that

God wants to speak to His people, but also that He is, in fact,

concerned with even the smallest details of our lives: “Are not

five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them

is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all

numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than

many sparrows” (Luke 12:6–7).

Throughout Scripture we see a God who cares and who com-

municates His concerns, His direction, His judgments and His

blessings to the people of this world. At times He spoke directly

to His servants; other times His mouthpieces, the prophets,

delivered His messages. Judges, kings, priests and even musi-

cians carried God’s instructions to the people. And in numerous

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God’s Purpose for Dreams and Visions

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instances in Scripture, God directed, corrected and instructed

individuals through dreams and visions.

Dreams and visions are perhaps some of the most common

ways God has communicated with humankind. The Bible con-

tains more than fifty references to dreams and visions in which

God delivered messages. Abraham learned of his promised lin-

eage through dreams and visions. Jacob’s life was drastically

changed through a series of dreams in which he received God’s

promises regarding his heritage. God revealed Joseph’s destiny

through his dreams. Daniel, Obadiah, Nahum and Zechariah

were among the prophets often visited with revelations from

God through visions and dreams.

Great protection was given to the Christ child as God’s mes-

sengers spoke to Joseph and the Magi in dreams. The apostles

Peter, Paul and John were later visited by the Spirit of God in

visions.

What Are Dreams and Visions?

Webster’s dictionary defines a dream as “a succession of images

or ideas present in the mind during sleep.” Dreams are formed

in the subconscious mind based on images and symbols that are

unique to the individual, depending on his or her background,

experience and current life circumstances.

Dreams can communicate truth about ourselves—or others—

that our conscious minds might have failed to acknowledge.

One word for dream in the Greek language is enupnion, which

is defined as “something seen in sleep or a vision in a dream.”

Dreams can originate strictly within the natural mind or can

be given as messages from God’s Spirit and received within the

mind. They are not always easy to understand, but dreams are

one means by which God might choose to speak to us.

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Webster’s dictionary defines a vision as “the act or power

of perceiving abstract or invisible subjects as clearly as if they

were visible objects.” A vision is also defined as “foresight.” One

Hebrew word for vision is chizzayown, which literally means

“a revelation.” A Greek word translated as “vision” in the New

Testament, horasis, means “the act of gazing at something or

an inspired appearance.”

Dreams and visions are basically the same except that a dream

occurs during periods of sleep, while a vision generally refers

to images or revelations received in picture form while awake.

I have often heard people say that they had a dream just before

getting out of bed in the morning, but they were not sure if it

was a dream or a vision since they thought they were awake at

the time. Whether these were dreams or visions is immaterial.

More important is the message of the revelation.

Joshua 1:8 tells us to meditate upon God’s Word both day

and night. Meditating on God’s Word before bed often results in

revelation through a dream. At times this might be a divine reve-

lation—God speaking to you through the dream. Or it might be

a personal revelation—your subconscious mind revealing your

deepest, innermost thoughts. Psalm 16:7 confirms this: “I will

bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart [thoughts

or inner man] also instructs [counsels] me in the night seasons.”

How We Receive Dreams

Dreams are messages sent either from God’s Spirit or from our

own souls, which comprise the mind, will and emotions. The

subconscious mind within our souls provides the background

or screen for these messages to be displayed on.

Spiritual dreams are inspired by God, then communicated

to our subconscious minds. These must then be received and

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God’s Purpose for Dreams and Visions

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discerned by our conscious minds through the inspiration of

the Holy Spirit. Just as television and radio waves are broad-

cast through the air and must be tuned in to, so dreams are

constantly being broadcast to the subconscious mind, both by

God’s Spirit and by our own souls. We must learn to turn on

our receivers and tune in to the messages being sent.

The prophet Micah said that he “saw” the word of the Lord

(Micah 1:1). How did he see this word? The New International

Version of the Bible calls this a vision. Micah likely saw images

or pictures projected on the screen of his mind, which com-

municated God’s word to him.

If we compare the communication of the Spirit of the Lord

through dreams to other methods of divine communication

mentioned in Scripture—prophecy, a word of knowledge, etc.—

the primary di!erence is that dreams are given first to the sub-

conscious mind before being perceived by the conscious mind.

Remembering Our Dreams

Many people tell me they do not hear from God in dreams be-

cause they do not generally remember their dreams. And when

they do remember a dream, they recall only fragments—scattered

images or happenings that make little sense in the light of day.

This is seen in Scripture when Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon,

had a dream that disturbed him a great deal, yet he could not

recall what he had dreamed. God showed the dream to Daniel

and gave him the interpretation as well (see Daniel 2:1–47).

Job 20:8 describes the fleeting nature of dreams: “He will

fly away like a dream, and not be found; yes, he will be chased

away like a vision of the night.”

Sleep specialists tell us that everyone dreams for a period of

time during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. So if all of us

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Dreams and Visions

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dream every night at some point, why do we not recall what

has been dreamed? There are several explanations. One is that

God created the mind to be constantly active, 24 hours a day,

making it unlikely that every thought or image that flashes

across the mind, whether conscious or subconscious, is meant

to be remembered and studied.

Another explanation could be that because dreams have

not been taken seriously or valued by much of our culture, as

products of this culture we allow our conscious minds to reject

dreams as unimportant and quickly forget them. In e!ect, we

turn o! our receivers. Additionally, if we fail to understand a

dream immediately, we tend to assume that it has no signifi-

cance and dismiss it, neglecting to search for any meaning the

dream might hold. As you read this book, it is important that

you begin to understand that dreams are often conveyed in your

subconscious mind in a symbolic fashion, and that it will take

time to develop a workable understanding of your own personal

language of symbols.

Yet another reason we do not always remember our dreams

is that we do not choose to record them in a timely manner.

We wake from dreams, “rehearse” them in our minds and as-

sume we will recall them later. And many times this works.

Scientists have determined that chemicals called serotonin and

norepinephrine exist in the memory banks of the brain for the

purpose of transferring thoughts from short-term memory to

long-term memory. If we make the e!ort to remember certain

thoughts or, in this case, dreams, these chemicals “print” those

dreams in our long-term memory banks. If this occurs immedi-

ately after waking, then there is the possibility we will be able

to call the dreams to mind later.

Sometimes, however, this memory method fails. I have on

several occasions awakened in the night with a dream I desired to

remember. In some instances the dream answered many questions

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regarding situations I was dealing with. As I lay in bed and went

over the dream in my mind, I felt confident that it would be

impossible to forget a dream of such insight and clarity. Never-

theless, when I awoke in the morning I could not recall even the

most general details of the dream. If I had only remembered

some of those dreams, maybe I could have changed the world!

If you are serious about understanding your dreams, you

should be prepared for such instances by keeping a notebook

and pencil by the bed. Another method might be to voice-record

the dream using your cell phone or other digital recording device.

Then, when you awaken in the middle of the night, you can re-

cord the dream and safely go back to sleep knowing the dream

and its details will be waiting for you to explore in the morning.

This is a necessary step for proper interpretation of dreams

and visions. We see that even Daniel

had to write down his dreams and vi-

sions: “In the first year of Belshazzar

king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream

and visions of his head while on his

bed. Then he wrote down the dream,

telling the main facts” (Daniel 7:1).

Even if you voice-record the dream,

it is still a good idea to keep a journal

of your dreams and visions and their

interpretations. Have a place, either

in a notebook or on your computer, where these revelations are

kept together in one place. There are times when God will give

a series of dreams or visions that do not seem related to one

another until you see the pattern as you review your journal.

Right now you might be thinking, I can’t record what I can’t

remember! Your brain, however, can actually be trained to make

note of dreams even while you sleep. If you are seeking the Lord

to hear His voice through a dream, you can learn to be aware

God wants you

to remember

important

dreams! It is not

hard to learn how.

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Dreams and Visions

28

of what you were dreaming even when you awaken slightly to

roll over. If you lie still and ask the Lord to show you what

you were dreaming, it is amazing how often the focus of the

dream appears.

In the morning, it is best to pay attention to what you are

dreaming even before the alarm goes o! when you begin to stir.

If you have slept soundly until the alarm, begin to pray actively

as soon as you awaken and ask the Lord to bring the clarity of

what you were just dreaming. If you hop right out of bed and

get busy, your mind will move forward and no longer hold on

to the dream.

A final reason we have di*culty remembering our dreams,

even after we have recognized God as the source, is simply that

we lack the desire to hear His voice or to put forth the e!ort

necessary to understand what He is saying. We cannot a!ord

to be apathetic or dull of hearing when our heavenly Father is

speaking to us. We should cry out to God to give us that hunger

that can be quenched only by communing with Him. Hearing

and responding to the voice of the Lord never fails to intensify

the intimacy of a relationship with Him.

God Is Still Speaking Today!

God is still speaking today and uses a variety of means to com-

municate with us. He speaks from both the Logos (the writ-

ten Word) and the rhema word of God (a timely, Holy Spirit–

inspired word, often from the written Word or via the gifts

of the Spirit). He will speak through an inner witness in our

spirits. He will speak to us through godly counsel and through

biblical preaching. God will also use nature, circumstances and

godly authority to speak into our lives, but we must have ears

to hear and hearts to receive what He is saying.

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Biblical accounts help us understand why God sends mes-

sages through dreams and visions. Primarily it is because He

has something to communicate to us. He might be teaching us

regarding personal areas of our lives; exposing hidden motives

or agendas in our hearts that need to change; revealing areas

where we should concentrate our prayers and intercession;

or explaining more about His love and His plan for our lives.

The messages He desires to convey to us are often unique and

varied.

God will use our dreams to bring instruction and counsel

to us, even as we sleep. Scripture tells us that God Himself

often appeared to individuals in dreams (see Genesis 28:10–16;

2 Chronicles 1:7). On other occasions an angel of the Lord ap-

peared in dreams (see Genesis 31:10–12; Matthew 1:20; 2:13).

God also spoke through symbolic dreams to such worldly

men as Nebuchadnezzar and Pharaoh, as well as to godly men

like Daniel and Joseph. These men had divine encounters with

their Creator through dreams that required an interpretation in

order for them to benefit from the message contained therein.

Once they received the interpretation, it changed their lives!

An ordinary Nazarene carpenter with no formal religious

training, Joseph dreamed dreams regarding Mary and the baby

Jesus in which an angel gave specific instruction concerning the

child’s well-being and safety (see Matthew 1–2).

Interpretation of the Four Horsemen Dream

The dream at the beginning of this chapter was a prophetic

word, not only to those nations where I was ministering but

also to the Body of Christ. The four angels, or “Four Horsemen

of Awakening,” are being sent to earth to assist the Church

in bringing a last days revival and harvest. Unlike the Four

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Horsemen of the Apocalypse described in the book of Reve-

lation, which bring death, war, famine and conquest, these an-

gels are being sent for breakthrough, revival and miracles. They

were on a golf course, for Paul speaks of finishing the course.

The crocodile was a symbol of leviathan (see Job 41), which

represents a spiritual force of darkness that tries to threaten,

intimidate and delay God’s purposes from moving forward.

The key to the dream was that the angels were waiting for

something in order to confront the opposition and be able to

advance. What were they waiting for? They were waiting for

the Church to arise and pray, to engage in the battle with them

so the final celebration could take place.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us that we are surrounded by a great cloud

of witnesses who are urging us on to the finish line. God was

letting us know that He has sent an angelic force to assist us in

bringing revival and awakening to the nations. Hebrews 1:14

tells us that angels are sent to assist those who are to inherit

salvation. This dream brought encouragement that God is send-

ing help from heaven to fulfill our mission, revelation regarding

the stronghold of opposition and a strategy to move forward

through prayer.

God still speaks today through dreams and visions, but only

those who have their hearts and spirits tuned to His Spirit will

hear and receive all that God has for them.

Questions for Consideration

1. What recording method can you use when you awaken

from a dream in the night? Digital voice recording? A

dream journal?

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2. Have you ever had a dream in which you felt God was

speaking to you? If so, record it now in a journal (in a

notebook or on your computer).

3. Do you have di*culty remembering your dreams? What

are some steps you can take to help you remember?

4. Have you ever had a vision? Remember, this might be God

flashing pictures upon the screen of your mind. Perhaps

during a time of prayer someone’s face or a situation

popped up. If so, record one instance of a vision in your

journal.

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